


slide into my dms; and perhaps my arms too

by nalbwanalbwa



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: 2park is best friends goal, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, daniel is instafamous and likes it, instagram!au, jihoon is instafamous and hates it, nielwink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-02-04 06:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12765312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nalbwanalbwa/pseuds/nalbwanalbwa
Summary: Park Woojin has always been a little shit - Jihoon knows that all too well - but he has truly outdone himself when he hacks into Jihoon's abandoned Instagram and slides into popular local b-boy realdefdanik's dmWith few months left until high school graduation, Jihoon thinks he needs to find a new best friend - and also gets rid of Kang Daniel from his dm(yes it's a nielwink Instagram!au ft. jinseob)





	1. realdefdanik

**Author's Note:**

> to inject some ray of sunshine into the nielwink tag that has gone all angsty after Beautiful mv, I present to you - my sorry attempt of a fluffy Instagram au

 

This is just another case of why one should not trust Park Woojin.

 

 

Don’t get Jihoon wrong – he loves his friend. Woojin is one the a few people that can handle Jihoon at his best and his worst (though the line is blurred most of the time) from the first day of middle school until they are about to graduate high school in less than three months. Six years is a long time, and an ample time to do many stupid things especially when you are growing boys – and Jihoon definitely cannot afford to lose Woojin as a friend now because he just knows _too much_.

 Jihoon would like to believe that the relationship is mutual because he, too, has more dirt on Woojin than one could imagine.

He thinks that is the reason why they click so well together – because while Woojin calls Jihoon a two-faced bastard on daily basis, Jihoon can actually list all the mischiefs, pranks and occasionally borderline sabotage that Woojin has committed under his awkward, prim student council representative pretence.

And that’s why Jihoon is sure that something is up right now just by looking at Woojin’s face.

“What did you do to my phone, you sick bastard?”

Woojin snorts exaggeratedly, another tell-tale sign that Jihoon is all too familiar with. “What do you mean, I was just keeping it safe while waiting for the owner to come and collect it because the owner is a careless idiot?”

Jihoon hisses at the slander, while his fingers slide and tap at various apps to check the possible damage done by his friend. There is no new conversation started on his Kakao Tallk – though Woojin probably has deleted it – and no suspicious posts on his Facebook profile either so he has nothing much to indict Woojin with.  

“I told you I did nothing! Your phone is locked with a password anyway,” Woojin insists. It is a chilly November night, and even with his padding he would very much like to return to the comfort of heating in his house rather than standing in front of the gate talking to Jihoon.

“You know my password from that one time I was stupid enough to give it to you!” Jihoon rebuts.

“There wasn’t just one time that you were stupid, Park Jihoon,” Woojin sighs dramatically just to agitate his friend. “It’s fucking cold, I’m going inside, see your stupid face tomorrow at school.”

Jihoon kicks Woojin on the shin in response before turning on his heels to go home, having to assume that everything is alright and Woojin is probably less shitty than Jihoon thought he is.

 

* * *

 

 However, it turns out that Park Woojin is definitely the shittiest person Park Jihoon has ever met in his 18 years of living.

 

And he finds this out at 4 am when he is finally done with his nth Overwatch game of the night and is about to _finally_ go to bed after checking his phone once.

There is an unfamiliar icon on the notification bar, a round-edged square with a circle inside – and Jihoon slides the bar downwards to see the notification.

 

**Instagram**

_realdefdanik: heyy_

 

Who the fuck is realdefdanik? And Jihoon has not used Instagram for almost a year now after the disaster that was when some girls from his school – and subsequently _other_ schools - found out his account and he got a mass influx of followers and comments on his photos and not to mention the direct messages that he did not even bother to read. He has set the account to private then, though it did nothing to the followers he gained before the change and deleted all his photos except for one - a random white puppy he found on his way home. He remembers deleting all the messages, too – and setting the notification for Instagram to be off on his phone.

This is probably one of the stupid decisions that Jihoon has made - and acknowledged – he should have deleted the account all together.

 

**Instagram**

_realdefdanik: asleep?_

_realdefdanik: oh its nearly 4 you must be asleep_

_realdefdanik: good morning when you read this in the morning then :)_

 

Jihoon wants to barf.

 

Yet – another stupid decision in making – he taps the notification, anyway, assuring himself that it is only so that the annoying notification will go away. The messages pops up and he springs up to a sitting position, eyes widened at the messages displayed.

 

_Yesterday 8:56 pm_

_hi_

_im jihoonie_

_wanna go for a with date me_

_Today 3:59 am_

_heyy_

_asleep?_

_oh its nearly 4 you must be asleep_

_good morning when you read this in the morning then :)_

 

Park Woojin is so fucking dead tomorrow and he will _not_ rest in peace.

 

_oh you are not asleep_

_or did I wake you up_

_sorry cutie :(_

 

Now Jihoon just wants to kill himself, instead.

 

_wtf_

_who you calling cutie_

_fuck off_

 

He should not have replied, the guy probably will go away if he just ignores him for a while – but Jihoon, unfortunately, has always been a bit short-tempered for his own good. He immediately comes with something better, though - he should block the guy instead and devise a plan to murder Park Woojin the first thing tomorrow.

 

Yet, another message appears.

 

_why, you are a cutie in all your photos_

_and to answer your question_

_yes I’d like to go on a date_

_;)_

 

Jihoon immediately goes to his profile because there should not be any fucking photos of himself – but there _are_. Loads of them, in fact. Most of them are cropped from two-shots with Woojin and some other friends, or in some cases his friends’ faces are covered by some stickers; which really makes it look like Jihoon an attention-seeking narcissist.

 

The icon of the direct messages appears again on the notification bar.

 

**Instagram**

_realdefdanik: you go to Seoul Art eh? I know that uniform heh_

_realdefdanik: I’ll pick you up for that date :)_

 

There goes Jihoon’s plan to block the guy because what is the point if the guy will just come and find him at school, anyway? His next plan is to explain nicely to the guy about the whole misunderstanding and hope that the guy has some empathy in his bones, unlike someone he once referred to as his friend, commonly known as Park Woojin.

 

_hey look_

_im sorry but this is a misunderstanding_

_my former friend hacked the acc and messaged you_

_so as you might guess_

_i don’t really want to go on a date w you_

 

It takes some time for the guy to reply, and Jihoon is curious enough to wait so he proceeds to check the guy’s profile – after setting his profile on private again and deleting all the photos Woojin has posted. The guy’s profile is pretty much a haphazard of selfies in similar filters, alternating with some videos. It seems like the guy is quite popular, if one is basing that on the followers count.

**96.12.10 Kang Daniel**

“A foreigner?” Jihoon muses to himself. Daniel is not a common name, yet from the messages, it does not seem like the guy is a foreigner. He does not _look_ like a foreigner, too, Jihoon thinks as he taps open some of the selfies.

By Park Jihoon’s standard, Kang Daniel is kind of cute himself, actually.

 

Jihoon catches himself and closes the profile immediately. He lies down again, deciding that he can just read Daniel’s replies tomorrow as they could not be more important than the sleep that he should be getting on a school night.

Right before he puts down his phone, though - the replies come.

 

**Instagram**

_realdefdanik: i see_

_realdefdanik: got it then_

 

A relieved sigh escapes from Jihoon’s mouth, thanking the gods above that Kang Daniel is fortunately not some asshole set to ruin his peaceful school life. He slides the notifications right to make them disappear from the bar and puts the phone next to his pillow; a bad habit he never seems to outgrow.

Jihoon is just about to close his eyes when he notices the LED blinks on top of his phone, indicating yet another notification. Again, curiosity wins over the desire to get enough sleep – at this rate, he is going to get barely 3 hours anyway – and he reaches for the phone.

 

**Instagram**

_realdefdanik: still want to go for that date w you tho_  

 

There is only so much that Jihoon can deal for a night and this is pushing it. He slides the notification off, locks the screen and shoves the phone underneath his pillow; there is always tomorrow to deal with shit.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It has been quite sometime since Jihoon last used non-prescription glasses to school because past experience has taught him that the usage of the glasses, for some reason that is still a mystery to him, make the girls bother him by 529% more than usual and Jihoon very much wants to avoid that. However, the state of his eyes when he wakes up (woken up by his mother, to be precise) at 7 in the morning gives him no choices but to wear something as a cover or people will think he has undergone something tragic overnight.

 

Oh well, taking into account of the sorry case of Kang ‘realdefdanik’ Daniel, that is not really an overstatement.

 

Jihoon makes it to his class after escaping some skirt-wearing schoolmates who peer at his glasses enthusiastically with apologetic-sounding “sorry, I’m late” and apologetic-looking smile, 10 minutes before the first bell (which is by his quick calculation) should be ample time to scream at Park Woojin about the misery that his _former_ friend has purposely instigated.

 Woojin has his head buried in the fold of his arms on the desk when Jihoon slams his bag on the adjacent desk. It aggravates Jihoon to see Woojin resting when _Jihoon_ is the one losing sleep over his stupid prank. He shoves Woojin’s shoulder, preparing himself to fire streams of all the swear words known to mankind at the boy but when Woojin lifts his head, all the profanity stops at the tips of his tongue.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asks instead, ogling at Woojin’s reddish eyes that are far worse than his own. “Did you even get any sleep, stupid?”

“I was about to when you shoved me, you dickhead,” Woojin croaks in response, and proceeds to clear his dry throat.

“I mean, _last night_! As if you can sleep through Seokhoon-ssaem’s class!” Jihoon is indignant. “Shit, Park Woojin, what the fuck happened?”

Woojin rests his aching head on the desk again, only now he is looking at Jihoon through half-opened eyes.

“The usual. You know there’s only one thing that despairs me in this otherwise beautiful life.”

His friend says it in mock whimsy but Jihoon gets it at once and turns around to look at the subject of the talk. It is always the same doe-eyed boy that sits across the room that woes Woojin; the boy who is now talking animatedly with his desk mates without any care of the world. Jihoon has no personal animosity with Ahn Hyungseob – in fact, they are quite close with Woojin as the common link – but at the moment, it is pretty infuriating to see Hyungseob’s carefree smile after the sight of Woojin’s swollen eyes.

“Do you need intervention? Should I go talk to him?”

Woojin jolts up at the suggestion, successfully startling Jihoon. He shakes his head adamantly, looking completely aghast just at the thought of it. “Don’t ever. You’ll make it worse, god, no.”

Jihoon has never considered himself as petty but _that_ slightly offends him. He would like to think that he is not that bad of a mediator. He is matured in thoughts when his short temper does not interfere with his actions, and it is not like he has never been in relationships too – he might not yet be well-versed on the real problem with Hyungseob and Woojin but surely talking with and listening to both sides will help.

Perhaps the discontent shows more apparent on Jihoon’s face than he intended to, that Woojin immediately tries to appease him.

“It’s nothing much; just me saying the wrong things again and him being all dramatic about it – nothing worth your intervention at all,” he says earnestly, squeezing Jihoon’s hand in assurance for a second before letting go at once.

Jihoon sighs, deciding to let the matter go. He rummages his bag for the things he needs for the class, though from the corner of his eyes he can see Woojin staring at Hyungseob past his head.

“Just because your love life is messed up, that doesn’t give you right to mess up mine too, Park Woojin,” he mutters pointedly.

“Oh, Kang Daniel is your love life now? That escalates quicker that I wished it would.”

Jihoon almost breaks his neck as he turns his head swiftly towards Woojin, baring his non-existent fangs at the mere idea – but Woojin is finally grinning, and it makes Jihoon feel quite relieved that he decides against putting Woojin into a headlock as he had originally intended.

And – as if being summoned – Jihoon’s phone vibrates against the table and notifications appear on the screen in succession.

 

**Instagram**

_realdefdanik: still want to go for that date w you tho_

_realdefdanik: good morning cutie :) hope you have a great day at school :)_

 

Jihoon groans and slams his head on the table, while Woojin gasps next to him, muttering “oh my god, I can’t believe this” over and over again. Yes, Jihoon does not really want to believe it either but it seems like in these few last months in high school, another task has come up for him - and that is to get rid of Kang Daniel, from his direct messages, and from his life altogether.

 

 

This is just another case of why one should not trust Park Woojin, ever.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is supposed to be a full fluff but me being me, I gotta throw some slight angst for a bit so sorry jinseob, you guys are cute together, really. the story won't be long, there will just be 3 chapters? or 4 at most, so it will be less than 10k altogether. nway, tell me what you guys think - it will greatly motivates me to continue this lol 
> 
> (there will be Daniel's pov in the next chapter!)


	2. JiJiJi529

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah the time I took to update this, you might think it's a 5k word update but I'm just a lazy-ass, sorry

People who casually know Kang Daniel probably will not notice the difference – but Ong Sungwoo and Yoon Jisung do not know Kang Daniel _casually_ , in every meaning of the word. Their running joke is that Daniel is a stray puppy that they have unfortunately adopted and raised to be a useful dog, but somehow has grown into a big puppy instead. Daniel laughs at their joke every time, light-heartedly thanking them and requesting new collars – but then Daniel laughs at pretty much everything, just like a Samoyed that wags his tail at everything that moves and is impossible to hate at all.

“Morning, my beloved hyungs!”

Yet, there is just some extra glee in his giggle this morning, which makes Sungwoo and Jisung look at each other with raised eyebrows. They watch Daniel flings his backpack onto the vacant chair on their table before heading towards the coffee machine at the corner of the pantry. Their eyes do not leave Daniel’s buff figure until he takes a seat, steaming hot coffee at one hand and some jellies in another.

“Why? Is there something on my face? Aside coolness, of course – can’t do anything about that,” Daniel asks as he takes his first sip.

Jisung widens his eyes dramatically while Sungwoo pretends to gag, successfully making Daniel laughs out loud.

“What are you so happy about? Did you get laid last night?” Sungwoo shoots the question. “Pretty sure I dropped you at a PC room last night, though – did you do it in the bathroom? That’s gross, Kang Daniel.”

Daniel chokes on his coffee and curses when he spills some on his beige button-up that he is wearing as an outer. “YOU are gross, hyung.”

Jisung, being the oldest and thus the most matured among the bunch, passes Daniel a wet tissue. He waits as Daniel unsuccessfully rubs the stain off his clothes before throwing a similar question in a perhaps more civilised manner than what of Sungwoo.

“So, anything good happened last night? This sounds like something my sister would say – but you are basically glowing.”

Daniel finally gives up on the stain, which has faded into a bigger spot, and throws the wet tissue at the chuckling Sungwoo.

“Why would I tell you guys, anyway – when you two are being so mean to me.”

“Ah, Jisung-hyung,” Sungwoo exclaims loudly, eyes shining in mischief. “Remember that beef coupon I got last week? I have _three,_ but I feel like only using two today so let’s go tonight after we’re done.”

Daniel’s face falls into a pout comically, which spells victory for the hyungs. They pull their chair closer to Daniel’s, completely ready for whatever Daniel is about to spill.

Daniel fishes out his phone from his pockets. A smile naturally appears on his face when he taps on the Instagram icon. “So, this cute boy DM-ed me last night.”

Jisung rolls his eyes. “Ten people DM you every single day, Daniel – and I still see you come in here with your eyes half open every morning instead of skipping like a fool.”

“This one is really cute – he has deleted all his photos but I screen-shot one – look!” Daniel insists, basically shoving the phone on Jisung’s face.

“He deleted all his photos?” Sungwoo repeats, perplexed. “What did you do to him that made him do that, Kang Daniel?”

“Nothing! I don’t even know why he deleted them!”

“Wait, Niel...” Jisung interferes as he stares at the photo shown on the screen. “How old is this kid?”

“Kid? I thought you said a boy!” Sungwoo snatches the phone from Jisung to take a look at the photo himself. He gasps overdramatically. “Are you sure he’s not – like – a _middle schooler_? Damn Daniel, I’m not gonna bail you out on this.”

“He’s a high schooler! The uniform is from Seoul Art High School!” Daniel is indignant and tries to take the phone back from Sungwoo but Sungwoo evades the attempt easily and is already on his way to sneak into Daniel’s Instagram account. Knowing that any further attempt is futile, Daniel leans back with a huff and watches as Sungwoo’s eyes dart along the conversation he has shared with Jihoon very early in the morning.

Sungwoo tilts his head in mock thinking-hard pose that always makes Daniel wants to throw something at him. “Isn’t this extortion of some sort, Kang Daniel?”

“What, what – what did our Niel say?” it is Jisung’s turn to snatch the phone from Sungwoo. Daniel thinks Jisung’s eyes will probably pop off anytime soon as he reads the conversation, and Daniel really wishes he has other friends that do not exaggerate everything for once. “Niel-ah, he is obviously not interested on that date... or on you, because that matters. Leave the kid alone, it’s not like you lack people to play around.”

Daniel frowns, taking back his phone from the older man’s hand and stuffing it back into his pants pocket. “You’re making it sounds like I’m a fuckboy or something. I know you turn 80 this year, but this is just how boys my age socialises, okay? Try to understand me, please, hyung.”

Jisung stands up from his seat to reach over and hit Daniel repeatedly as the latter laughs his ass off, feeling proud that he gets to agitate Jisung. “Ungrateful kid – I literally feed and clothe you like a son and that’s how you talk to me? I did not raise you to be like this, Kang Daniel! Don’t come to me when you get into trouble for messing up with minors later, remember that – “

Sometimes he might wish for less dramatic friends, but amongst Jisung’s raining slaps on every inch of his body that he can reach, and Sungwoo’s encouraging words that is only adding oil into fire in the background, Daniel knows he needs no one else but these two in his life.

“But Daniel,” Sungwoo says on their way to the dance practice room where the three of them work as dance instructor. “You really like those cold types, huh? Last people you dated are like that, too – that noona, what’s her name again...”

“Because he’s a cat person,” pipes in Jisung, nodding importantly as if he is stating an important fact. “Or a masochist, there’s no in between.”

Daniel laughs out loud in between them, resting his arms on both of the older men. Truly, there are nothing they do not know about him, and there is not a time where they cease from taking care of him and that is enough for 21-year-old Kand Daniel, nothing else wanted.    

“He’s just... interesting, I guess. Or maybe I’m bored.”

Perhaps, perhaps _just_ another person with twinkling, mismatched pretty eyes that he saw on the Instagram last night – that has made him intrigued in a way he has never been before – but that is still a work in progress as of now.

 

* * *

 

 

Jihoon scans the classroom from the back door and finds Woojin’s seat empty without even his bag. There are still a few students in the classroom, discussing some homework, doing self-study or simply chatting with friends but there is no sight of his best friend at all. They usually go home together so when Jihoon returns to the class after a short meeting with their homeroom teacher, he has expected to see Woojin waiting for him, whining about how he has to go home later than he is supposed to because of Jihoon.

“Hyungseob-ah,” he calls out as the boy walks past him with his bag flung over his shoulder, ready to go home. Hyungseob turns around and Jihoon does not quite know what he has expected but he is sure the look Hyungseob is giving him right now is not one of them. “Where’s Woojin?”

Hyungseob stares at him, round eyes boring into Jihoon’s in a way that makes Jihoon feel like has done something wrong – and when Hyungseob finally answers the question, his voice is unexpectedly icy. “Why would I know that?”

“ _Why_ –” Jihoon is slightly flabbergasted. He is familiar with the cheery Hyungseob, the Hyungseob that words his speech like a kindergartener just to annoy Jihoon, the Hyungseob that goes out of his way to bring mood up when the class gets a bit tensed with the workload in their last year of high school – the Hyungseob that is his friend – but not _this_ Hyungseob. “You are his boyfriend... who else is there to ask if it’s not you?”

“His _boyfriend_ ,” Hyungseob scoffs as if it is ridiculous. “He’s with you all the freaking time, though.”

Jihoon opens his mouth to retort – because he really does not understand why he is having this conversation with Hyungseob – but nothing comes out. There has never been a time when Jihoon would have to explain about his friendship with Woojin and he does not think he would have to do that to Hyungseob who have been with them for three years now. Yet the way Hyungseob is treating him right now has started to rub him off wrongly and he is not really the most patient person around.

“What are you trying to say, Ahn Hyungseob?”

“I’m saying that he might as well date you, Jihoon-ah.”

 

 

 

If he ran for a little bit, Jihoon would probably make it into the bus, or at least make the bus stop to wait for him to aboard but Jihoon swings his leg leisurely as he watches it zooms past the bus stand. The next bus will be in fifteen minutes, and he takes a seat, thinking that it is an ample time for him to clear his head.

The bus stand is empty albeit himself and it has just occurred to him that this is the first time he is here without Woojin. He scoffs at the thought but Hyungseob’s words resurface without being wanted and he kicks the air ruefully.

He has ended the conversation with Hyungseob with “you are being ridiculous” before storming off, afraid that he would do something he would regret if he stayed any longer. He has told himself to calm down with every step he takes as he walks out from the school and to the bus stand but the whole thing still heaves a weight in his chest, the uneasiness refusing to go away no matter how much he tries.

He checks his phone out of habit and sees no new notification on the bar. Trying his best not to let his mind wander to the fact that Woojin has not texted him, he taps on the Instagram notification that he has ignored from the morning.

 

**realdefdanik**

_Today_

_still want to go for that date w you tho_

_good morning cutie :) hope you have a great day at school :)_

 

Jihoon is not quite aware of what he is doing – nor he wants to be aware of it – he just wants to do something to distract himself from thinking about Woojin, or Hyungseob or both of them, so he lets his fingers run on the virtual keyboard and curse the hell out of everything.

_school sucks_

 

 

 

* * *

 

It is almost midnight when Jihoon gets a reply – not that he has been waiting for it or regretting his action or wanting to delete his Instagram account all together. He grabs his phone at once when he notices the blinking of the LED, and holds his breath as he unlocks the phone.

 

**Instagram**

_realdefdanik: why_

_realdefdanik: want to talk about it?_

 

Daniel is not using that annoying smiley so Jihoon takes it as a good sign.

 

_Today_

_still want to go for that date w you tho_

_good morning cutie :) hope you have a great day at school :)_

_school sucks_

_why_

_want to talk about it?_

_just some stupid stuffs_

_no_

_wyd now then_

_game_

_OW? CoC? LoL?_

_LoL just now but im dead_

_today sucks_

_add my id rooneyappa_

_i need one more in my team now_

_hurry_

 

There is still no text from Woojin – no apologies for ditching Jihoon after school, or explanation on Hyungseob’s changed view on their friendship, or even a reply to Jihoon’s “ _wyd_ ” that he has seen hours ago –  and Kang Daniel is, perhaps, just the distraction that he needs.

  

* * *

 

 

“Never ever drag me to play your stupid game again, Kang Daniel,” Sungwoo spits each word with menace as they descend the stairs of the PC room way past midnight. He should have just gone home after dropping off Daniel, but somehow he has agreed to play ‘ _just a game’_ that has turned to ‘ _just another one’_ and four of ‘ _last game, I swear_ ’. Having had to play out of his own will is a thing, what pisses him off is actually while he might not be a game expert, but in his 22 years of his blessed life, Sungwoo has never been cursed so much in one night – much less from a teammate.   

Completely disregarding Sungwoo’s misery, Daniel simply chuckles, eyes glued at his phone.

 

**JiJiJi529**

_Today_

_your team hella suck_

_that ongieongieongie should just delete his stupid id_

_god_

_lol_

_we win some tho_

_nice carry_

_you guys suck too much I just have to_

_right_

_I’ll do better next time_

_and ongieongieongie wont play again_

_hes quitting games and becoming a monk_

_he better_

_god seriously_

_lolol_

_aint it time for sleep_

_yep_

_good night then_

_yep_

 

He waits for a _good night_ in return, but none comes even after five minutes so he stashes the phone in his pocket and swings his arm around Sungwoo’s shoulder.

“Hyung, let’s go for a drink. My treat,” he says, unable to hide his giddy smile.

“Why?” Sungwoo eyes him suspiciously.

“Just.... something good happened.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like Jisung and Sungwoo! Seobie dear, I love you, I swear ;-; tbh, I haven't outlined any definite plot for this but seeing at how things are going, it might take longer than 4 chapters after all haha I'll try to update weekly or at least forthnightly lol (feel free to come yell at me at Twitter @winkgingie or CC curiouscat.me/mylovewinkgingie )
> 
> ohh and thank you for the kudos and the comments! really really really appreciated them!! 
> 
> p.s. shout out to Ajeng for important second opinions heh and 10-nim for proofreading!


	3. Kang Daniel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi I'm not dead and neither is this story lol

“Why are there so many photos of Jihoon?”

Jihoon smacks the back of the head where the whiny voice came from, and Joo Haknyeon turns around with a hiss. Jihoon responds by a roll of eyes, though when the boy turns his head towards the book spread open at the table they sit huddled together, Jihoon pats the thick, curly dark brown locks softly as a slight gesture of apology.

Byun Hyunmin, the owner of the table (also the editorial committee member that is responsible of showing them the first draft of the yearbook before it goes into printing the next month) sighs. “According to the interest check posts that the girls on the committee made on social platforms, most of the comments say they would buy it if there are enough eye candies included, and again, most of the comments mentioned ‘ _lots of Park Jihoon-oppa, please!!!_ ’ so that’s how it turns out.”

Yehyun nudges Jihoon on his right arm. “How does it feel to be so popular with girls despite being obviously not into girls, Mr. Park Jihoon?”

“It’s so unfair,” says Seunghyuk, who is perched on the table and looking at Jihoon as if he is victimised by the attention that Jihoon is getting from the opposite genders. “Who else have been mentioned, by the way?”

Jihoon scoffs, while Hyunmin stares at the sheepish Seunghyuk, clearly unimpressed.

“Haknyeon,” he answers, anyway, which brings out a giddy smile from the mentioned boy, and a disappointed frown from the one who asked the question. “Though, Jihoon got a lot more votes because it seems like they already got enough photo updates from Haknyeon’s Instagram, while Jihoon’s has been barren for years so they need Jihoon’s photos more.”

“Oh, well – at least I got mentioned,” Haknyeon shrugs, smirking pointedly at Seunghyuk, which earns him a shove on the shoulder.

“Oh, Hyungseob got mentioned a lot, too,” Hyunmin adds in as it just crosses his mind. “Though, some of the comments actually specified ‘ _with Woojin-oppa, because they are cute!’_ and some dog references that I don’t care about.”

“Why is a gay couple more popular with the girls than me, a perfectly single, straight boy?” Seunghyuk whines exasperatedly. Yehyun pats his arm consolingly as he makes eye contacts with the rest of his friends, all wondering if they should tell him that he probably needs to try talking with girls without freaking out first.

Nah, they decide telepathically, the break time is not enough to cover the topic if they start now.

“Where are these two, anyway?” Yehyun asks hastily to change the course of the conversation.

“They are spending the break time with just the two of them now,” Hyunmin says, finally closing the yearbook prototype, having had received enough constructive feedbacks before Haknyeon pointed out the abundance of Jihoon in the content. “Since they most probably will not get to spend much time together once we graduate, with Hyungseob all set to get into Inha, so they might as well enjoy the luxury right now.”

Haknyeon nods in agreement as he has heard enough about that from Hyungseob himself during their study sessions. “Woojin is going to Chung-ang with you, right?”

Jihoon is startled by the sudden question posed to him. “He is not going to Chung-ang _with me_ , it just happens that we both chose the same college.”

It is an important point to make in Jihoon’s opinion, but his friends do not seem to think so, as Seunghyuk starts to wonder out loud if he can get into his first choice of university, a topic that the rest of the boys can finally empathise with. Jihoon sighs inwardly, letting his mind wander to the conversation that he had with Woojin just a week ago.

 

* * *

 

_Woojin leans low on the bench, limbs spread wide as Jihoon stands towering over him._

_“I’m really sorry, Jihoon-ah.”_

_“What are you sorry about?” Jihoon asks with arm crossed and lips pursed._

_“Now you sound just like him,” sighs Woojin, running his palms down his face helplessly. “I’m sorry you got caught into our lovers’ quarrel, alright? I’ll sort it out soon, and Seobie doesn’t mean bad. He’s just mad at me and he let it out on you.”_

_Jihoon knows Hyungseob does not mean anything bad but having to listen to Woojin telling him that irks him a little, especially when it was him who has to deal with Hyungseob’s little confrontation that he did not deserve. He also knows that Woojin’s apology is as sincere as it can be, but it does little to nothing to the fact that Hyungseob is having unnecessary doubts about the nature of their friendship._

_“Is it because you chose to go to the same university as me instead of his choice?” It is merely a question to confirm the obvious fact, and Jihoon is not at all surprised when Woojin nods resignedly._

_“At this point, maybe you should change your choice, then. There’s still time, and whatever university it is, it probably has the dance course that you want to do –“_

_“He wants to go to Inha because that’s where all his family ever goes to,” Woojin cuts Jihoon off. “It’s a research university for god’s sake, and there are no dance courses offered, I checked.”_

_“And I didn’t choose Chung-ang because of you either,” he carries on, too weary to notice the startle that is apparent on Jihoon’s face. “There is another reason for it; something I don’t want to tell anyone – neither you nor Seobie –  until it is confirmed.”_

_Jihoon takes his time processing the information. Chung-ang University has been his first and only choice from the start, recommended by an acting coach from a theatre production he had participated in during the summer break last year. He believes that it was him who brought up the university to Woojin sometime earlier in the year, and somewhere along the way, his best friend has come to decide that he, too, plans to enrol into the same department, but in a different major.  It just so happens that the Department of Performance Film Creation of Chung-ang University also offered the major in Dance that Woojin is aiming for, on top of Theatre Acting that Jihoon is going for._

_Jihoon has never heard Woojin talk about Chung-ang before he brought it up, or any other university in fact; but all of a sudden, Woojin claims that he is not choosing Chung-ang because of Jihoon – what kind of bullshit is that?_

_However, that is barely the pressing issue right now – or ever, Jihoon reminds himself. The fact that he was happy because – he had believed – Woojin had wanted to go to the same university as him, when it turns out that it is not really the case – will never be a significant matter to be discussed about. That is just how things work in between the two of them for the longest of time, and Jihoon never wants to change anything about it – especially with Ahn Hyungseob now bigger in the picture._

_“You don’t have to tell me,” he says finally, taking a seat on the bench next to Woojin and nudges his legs for more space. “But you have to tell your boyfriend, or else he will think the most obvious reason he could see, even if it’s not true. You are just making him anxious, and what with the exams coming soon, it is not fair for him to deal with that on his own.”_

_“It’s not fair for me, too – to be confronted like that,” Jihoon continues before Woojin comes up with a response, not that the latter looks like he has any to offer soon. “It’s making me look like I’m hogging you on purpose as if I don’t have any other  friends – which all of us know is not true! The kids in our grade probably like me more than they do you – heck, I’m pretty sure all the underclassmen like me more than you.”_

_That manages to lighten the atmosphere considerably; Woojin snorts, showing his charming snaggletooth, and Jihoon chuckles abashedly at his own exaggeration._

_“I’ll talk to Seobie about this again,” Woojin says solemnly. “He’s been going on and on about spending time together while we can, and maybe he’s right.”_

_“Of course he’s right,” Jihoon chides as if it has never occurred to him before that Woojin has not been doing his shares in the relationship – but that, too, belonged to the things that Jihoon does not want to discuss – even now. “You should treat him right; it’s not easy to find anyone who would want to date your sorry ass.”_

_Woojin splutters in indignant dissent before he proceeds to name all other people that have showed interest on him – all while reminding him not mention them to Hyungseob – and while Jihoon laughs out loud at the ridiculousness, he mentally adds in another familiar yet strayed name into Woojin’s list –  but that shall never be discussed ever._

 

* * *

His friends are still discussing the terror of the approaching college admission exams when Jihoon brings his mind around to the present again, but he is immediately distracted by the vibration of the phone in his pocket instead.

When he takes it out, the screen is lit up with a notification – _realdefdanik mentioned you in a story_

In his hurry to open the notification, on top of the tremor of his hands at whatever outrageous thing that Kang Daniel is now doing, Jihoon drops the phone on the floor, and hits his head on the edge of the table as he dives to retrieve it. His friends might have said something about the mess that he suddenly turns into but Jihoon cannot quite hear it in the moment.

The notification directs him to their direct messages box, with the same information – that _fucking_ Kang Daniel has mentioned him in his _fucking_ Instragram story. Jihoon taps on the story link, and a photo of a white Jindo dog fill up the screen, with a caption in the middle.

 

 

_reminds me of JiJiJi529 _

 

 

 

Swearing out loud, Jihoon returns to the direct message box and starts to type furiously.

 

_wtf you doing_

_delete that now_

Daniel replies in less than 30 seconds – Jihoon actually has counted.

_what, why_

_just delete it_

_no tell me_

_i don’t want people to check out my acc_

_delete it_

_your acc is private tho_

_either you delete that story_

_or I delete my acc_

_your pick_

_wth_

_why are you so worked up over a story_

_fine_

_wait_

_deleted_

_it’s really nothing to be freaked out fgs_

_your acc has 8k followers and is public_

_I don’t want 8k and more curious people to find my acc_

_not every single one check out my story_

_I know you don’t_

_I don’t use IG in general_

_seriously_

_don’t do that again_

_or no more teaming up on PUBG_

_you will have to fend your loser ass by your own_

_you are ridiculous :(_

_though I still need you on PUBG_

_so okay_

_no more shout outs :/_

_yes good_

There is no sign of Daniel typing a reply after a few seconds so Jihoon considers the conversation done and closes the interface. Yet, when he is about to lock the screen, a series of notification pops up.

**Instagram**

_realdefdanik_ : _check out my story nevertheless_

 _realdefdanik:_ _peace out_

 _realdefdanik_ : _see you tonight ;)_

 

Jihoon knows he probably will regret it later, but like any other things that involves Kang Daniel so far, he somehow lets himself indulge in the sweetness of bad decisions and taps the circle with Daniel’s profile picture on his feed. A familiar photo of a white Jindo dog appears, and for a split second, Jihoon is swamped by panic thoughts that perhaps Daniel has fooled him about deleting the Instagram story – until his eyes focus on the caption that now reads;

 

 

_still reminds me of you_

_(tried to bite me when I pat him)_

 

 

A sigh involuntarily escapes from his mouth as Jihoon closes the application tabs and locks the screen into plain darkness. He is absent-mindedly staring at the blank screen when he notices something – that the reflection that is staring back at him on the black surface has eyes slightly crinkled, and lips upturned; almost resembling a smile, and a quite amused one while at it.

 

* * *

  

The first time Jihoon had visited Chung-ang University was with Woojin.  It was after the two of them submitted their course plans to the homeroom teacher with their top three choices of university at the start of their third year. Woojin was the more excited one between the two of them, even if Jihoon himself had been quite anticipating, since his prospect of getting admitted into the department had been pretty bright, with the extensive list of productions he had taken part in since he was young.

Back then, they had also gotten off the bus at this stop – Jihoon reminisces as he waves his transport card at the box near the driver before going down the metal steps and the soles of his Converse touch the asphalt. He remembers because when the moment they got off, Woojin was staring at the three-floored shop lots in front of the stop and when Jihoon asked him why, he had told Jihoon that he was just trying to remember a landmark of the stop so that they would not get lost at a place they had just get to the first time.

For Jihoon, the stop is easy enough to remember; there is a convenience store almost right in front of the stop –  that is staring back at him, right now. Someone just walks out from the store holding an ice cream cone, and despite the chilly weather that is welcoming the winter season, Jihoon follows the sight of the ice cream with the corner of his eyes and debates inwardly if he should buy one right now, or after he is done with his business in the area.

 _After_ , he decides and drags his feet alongside the shop lots, trying to make sure he had the route to the university correctly, and perhaps after he is done he could also get some other snacks to reward himself for being such an _adult_.

 

Jihoon should not have had any concern at all about getting to the place right; because all he has to do is follow a bunch of college students that is going in the same way. After all, Chung-ang University back entrance is the nearest campus around the area and the buildings of Faculty of Arts are just the first blocks past the guard house. There are even some college girls trying to chat Jihoon up and offer to show him Tthe way along the walk, though he has mastered the art of rejecting politely for years now.

The task he had bore today is just dropping his application forms and some other paperwork prepared by his school for his application to the colleges. His homeroom teacher has given him a heads-up that the administration offices can be quite _pain in the ass_ most of the time – but while Jihoon is annoyed by all the unwanted attention, having an above average look has its own advantages and blowing off crankiness from middle-aged women sitting behind the counters with a smile is a skill Jihoon has been born with.

Nevertheless, the process has gone smoothly, the office lady has even invited him to look around the campus while he is at it, though Jihoon waves her off with a good-natured chuckle. There is still an audition to be gone through, as Jihoon has opted to go for the special rolling admission instead of the general admission through the usual College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). He might still have to take the test if the audition does not pull through, and while his teacher has assured him that he would still have high chances of getting in if they go by his current results, Jihoon much more prefers to not take the exams at all.

The audition is, according to the lady that has invited him for cookies and tea at the faculty administration office, going to be held in three to four weeks from now, and thus he has ample time to worry about that latter. Right now, all Jihoon wants to do is to reach for that pudding at the farthest back of the chilled shelves, because he likes his pudding cool and the front ones are lukewarm.

He balances the bungeoppang ice cream, cheese sticks and wrapped sausages that he has picked earlier in one hand, and tiptoes to get the tips of his fingers on the pudding. Luckily his middle finger manages to tip the pudding cup forward and he catches it skilfully. Standing back on his soles, he gathers all the snacks in his arms and turns around, only to bump into a rather big figure, his nose tip knocking on the person’s shoulder. He steps back right away, though his nose manages to catch a whiff of the person’s perfume all the same, and during his hasty scramble, the bungeoppang ice cream slips through his hold and falls flat on the floor.

“Oh, sorry,” the person says, bending down to fetch the package. “Ah, it’s ruined.”     

Jihoon knows that voice.

 

He has heard the voice from his headset as he runs through the childish map of League of Legends, the futuristic set of Overwatch, and the realistic backdrop of Battleground, urging him sprint faster, yelling for supports, and groaning loudly when the character got killed. Jihoon has heard it so many times that he recognizes it even in a low drawl like just now.

And when the person straightens his back up again, the spoilt ice cream in his hand, and their eyes meet – Jihoon knows it right away. From the dirty blonde hair peeking from his snapback, to the pale face marked with a single mole under the corner of right eye, to the pointed chin; Jihoon has seen the face on his Instagram a few times a week, when he idly scrolls through the feed.

“Oh?” There is a hint of recognition in the voice, and Jihoon simply watches, despite the blaring alarm inside his head to _run_ , as the eyes in front of him widens slightly before the gaze latches on his name tag sewn on his winter uniform. “ _Oh._ Park Jihoon!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you guys like the '99 line troupe? hehe and now that Jihoon and Daniel have met, this will be less an Instagram au then it already is lol I hope you like how the plot has progressed so far and tell me if there's anything you want to read in the next chapters, please? do I go on with Jihoon-Woojin-Hyungseob drama or should I drop it? I have the general outline, of course, and Jihoon and Daniel will meet more (than they should, actually) of course, but if there's anything else or any other cameo you want to see...... nway, just comment and/or talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/winkgingie) or [curiouscat!](https://curiouscat.me/mylovewinkgingie)
> 
> Thanks a lot for reading and not dropping this lol I hope I can update regularly after this heh
> 
> p.s. shout out for Tori for proofreading; it was a mess before she got her hands on it lol


	4. Park Jihoon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! apparently I haven't been updating since February - oops. thank you for still checking this story out, I guess? hehe

 

“Hey, Jisung-hyung, Sungwoo-hyung, you probably should go fetch your puppy downstairs before he got a restraining order on him.”

Jisung stops his chatters with some other trainers at once and turns to Hwanhoong who has just plopped down on the floor with a cold drink in his hand. Sungwoo, too, looks up from his phone and has his eyes on their fellow dancer.

“What, why, what is he up to now?” Jisung is the one who asks, seeing that Sungwoo is much less inclined to know what kind of mischief that their younger friend is doing at the moment.

“Chatting up a school boy at the convenience store,” Hwanhoong tells them, a resigned smile hanging on his lips, having to know Daniel for almost two years now that he is no longer a stranger to Daniel’s nature of _befriending_ people. “Poor kid, he looks really young and I don’t know, uncomfortable?”

Jisung and Sungwoo exhange looks and collectively sigh. Hwanhoong notes the reaction and casually drops the topic. After all, he knows Daniel never means any harm, and probably knows what he is doing –  he definitely does not lack any experience on this matter – and the boy is probably not as young as he has thought, despite the glaring bright yellow school uniform. Above all, whatever Daniel does during time-offs is none of his business at all.

 

Then again, Daniel rarely keeps his _friends_ off his work space – and Hwanhoong makes a bet with himself that he is going to see the boy at their dance studio within a month time at least.

 

* * *

 

 

The first thing Daniel has noticed is that Jihoon’s eyes are not really as mismatched as he remembered from the photos he has seen briefly before – but upclose, the shapes of the eyes are really distinct, peculiar in a pretty way that Daniel is sure that he has never seen a pair of similar eyes before (and Daniel has met quite a lot of people and has gazed into quite many pairs of eyes.) He probably should hold the staring a little bit, though because Jihoon looks like he wants to either avoid eye contact as much or disappear off the Earth at the very moment.

“You are far away from school,” he remarks, taking his eyes off from Jihoon for the first time since they both perch down on the high stools at the bar table near the entrance, upon Daniel’s insistence. He was also been adamant to pay for Jihoon’s snacks, albeit that move was refused point-blank by Jihoon and they settled on with Daniel buying Jihoon another, perfectly intact buggeopang ice-cream because it was basically Daniel’s fault that it slipped from Jihoon’s grip.

“I had some business in the area,” Jihoon responds, after realizing that he needs to give one based on the way Daniel looks expectantly at him. Perhaps Daniel has wanted some more details, but he figures that he does not owe Daniel anything of sort anyway, so he busies himself with the food instead, and casts his gaze at the passing crowd in front of the shop, feeling envious of the way they are free to go to places they want and not tied down talking to Kang Daniel.

“What kind of business?”

Of course, Kang Daniel is that kind of person, Jihoon should have known.

Jihoon glances briefly at the young man next to him, noting his amicable smile – way too amicable for Jihoon’s comfort, if he is to be honest – before turning away again.

Even though he has always had an idea how Daniel looks like because of the selfies that the young man regularly posts on the Instagram, Jihoon cannot help but to check Daniel out from head to toe earlier when he was paying for Jihoon’s ice-cream and his own can of cold beer. Daniel is wearing a loose t-shirt that only emphasises his broad shoulders more – which is the first thing that Jihoon had noticed – and a pair of training pants that Jihoon figures out is supposed to be a three-quarter in length but barely reaches Daniel’s knees. The length of his legs stands out because while Jihoon’s own _growing_ height is still at the lower end of the average South Korea male, it does not take much looking up for him to look at Daniel in the eyes, and yet Daniel somehow looks much taller in comparison. After all, good body proportion is one of the greatest blessings can be given to a man, and Daniel is very blessed indeed.

There is something about Daniel’s overall look that reminds Jihoon of someone with perfect proportion as well, and – brushing aside an impudent thought of perhaps Daniel is also well-muscled inside the t-shirt, in comparison of _that person_ – it makes Jihoon wonders if Daniel, too, like the person he is reminded of, dances regularly. After all, plain, loose t-shirts with training pants are hardly casual fashion in late autumn season.

He is not sure if Woojin had purposedly picked Daniel knowing that Daniel ticks off all Jihoon’s ideals on a man or his friend was just being lucky in choosing someone to use to mess with Jihoon – Woojin had fervently avoided the topic, only insisting that Kang Daniel is harmless and not a serial killer – but if Kang Daniel is actually an idol trainee, Jihoon probably needs to kill Woojin for real.

(Because once is enough; and Woojin should know that.)

However, Daniel being an idol trainee that is practising in a nearby studio will be a relatively better assumption than the one that has just crossed his mind – that Daniel, perhaps, is a student at the nearest college in the vicinity, which happens to be the very college he is going to.

“What are you doing here, by the way?” he asks, trying to sound as casually interested rather than unnecessarily panicked.

Daniel most probably hears it as the former one because he perks up at the question, and Jihoon almost sees a pair of puppy ears popping out from his slicked back but messy blonde hair.

“My dance studio is upstairs!” he tells Jihoon, and upon seeing the blank look on Jihoon’s face, proceeds to explain more. “I am a dancer in a dance crew – the MMOs – I used to think we are pretty well-known but since you look like you’ve never heard of it then I guess we should work harder.”

He ends his explanation with a chuckle but Jihoon feels a pinch of guilt all the same, albeit only passing because obviously he has no reason at all to know any dance crews, except for those local ones that Woojin have joined previously in middle school. His interest in Korean entertainment industry is only limited to listening to ballad songs that trends on music streaming sites and some male idol songs that the girls keep playing in the class, much to the other boys’ resentment.

(Jihoon is not going to be as far as being resentful since some of these songs are indeed good, but sometimes he also wants to play his favorite Red Velvet songs out loud.)

“I’m just not paying attention to these things,” Jihoon says to appease his new acquaintance, and it easily works because Daniel immediately brightens up again. “So, you are going to college around here too?”

Daniel shakes his head. “I don’t go to college. The dance gigs are all-year round, plus we also provide dance lessons at the studio, so you can say it’s a full-time job.”

Something flickers in Daniel’s mind at the very moment, right after he mentions the word _college_ and he takes one good look at Jihoon’s school uniform where three black bands are stitched on the sleeves, indicating the student grade.

“Are you perhaps applying to Chung-ang University?”

 

* * *

 

 

Woojin clicks _Send_ on the email webpage and closes the laptop immediately. “That’s it, that’d do, that’s it, I’m done for, ah, done done done done –“

“Shut up, Park Woojin,” Jihoon cuts off the accented drawl of his best friend by throwing a soft toy that hits him right on the head. He puts both of his feet up on the edge of Woojin’s bed where he is sitting and rests his head on his knees. “We’ve done like 70 takes and that’s the best; you are going to get in for sure.”

The other boy leans back on his chair as he stares at the laptop on the study desk. Half of him wants to believe that Jihoon is right, that he has done his very best with choreographing a whole dance routine for a random 3-minute beat tasked for him, and then executing the dance itself on the camera – but there is also another side of him, the one that had insisted on improvising a few details into the routine even during the filming process, which had caused him to doubt the overall balance of the routine afterwards when he checked the video _and_ that led to yet another filming, steps that were subsequently becoming a cycle that was only ended when Jihoon refused to turn on the camera again.

“You think so?” he asks rhetorically, still in his Busan accent that somehow refuses to go away even after almost 10 years living in Seoul. Most of the time he manages to curb it down, but it just naturally thickens when he is not in full control of his mind, like right now.

“Yes, I am sure,” Jihoon answers in his own version of Busan accent, just to lighten the air. He knows how high-strung Woojin is, and while he understands that Woojin has every reason to be antsy, he truly believes that his friend has done a job. “At least you can just film a video of you dancing and send it to them, I need to perform in front of a panel!”

Woojin lets go a long, deep breath and stretches his limbs before climbing onto the bed, picking up the plushie in form of a pink, chubby sausage that had rolled off on the floor after being thrown by Jihoon earlier on his way. He shoves Jihoon to make some space for him on his _own bed_ , which Jihoon retaliates by pushing his head off the pillow.

“Go home, Park Jihoon, you are no longer needed here,” mutters Woojin as he spreads out his limb on bed, lying on his stomach. His hands grope around the pillows for his long-forgotten handphone and when he finally finds it, he is not at all surprised to see the number of notifications on the lockscreen.

“Jihoon-ah,” he calls out after a while, and when Jihoon does not look up from whatever game he is playing on his phone, he nudges his friend with the tip of his toe, which causes the boy to curse in disgust.

“What’s your fucking problem?” Jihoon barks as he wipes his cheek furiously.

“When is your entrance evaluation again?”

“It’s on 2nd November, on Thursday the week after next – I told you.” Jihoon rolls his eyes at the question before returning to the game that he had inevitably lost. He taps his feet impatiently as he waits for a new game to load but suddenly the background music of the game rings a little too loud to his liking. He turns around to Woojin who is sprawling in the middle of the bed.

“Why?” he asks, even though just with a glance at Woojin’s phone screen – the interface of Kakao Talk chat with a single syllable name followed by a heart emoticon on top shining brightly – he already has an inkling of what is the issue about.

Woojin sits up slowly, eyes still fixed on the message as if it can magically alter by itself. “Seob’s entrance interview is on the same day.”

“Oh.”

It should not be a big deal – obviously Woojin should go with Hyungseob for moral support, because that is exactly what boyfriends are for. It does not matter that he has promised Jihoon that he will come to Jihoon’s evaluation _first_ , or that Jihoon has had confirmed the date _first_ or that Jihoon still needs someone to hold his hand before he goes up on stage even after a few times being in plays. Hyungseob’s interview is just as important, and Hyungseob is just as significant to Woojin as Jihoon is, if not more, so Jihoon really should just this one slide.

“I think one of the guys will be just glad to skip a day of school to go with you; pretty sure Joo Haknyeon will be ecstatic if you ask him,” he hears Woojin says, in a voice that tells him how sorry Woojin is for the situation. He hates it so much – he hates the fact that Woojin is feeling sorry for him, and he hates that he feels wronged by it.

He hates that he finds the whole thing unfair – he hates that he just _has_ to have a crush on his own best friend, a feeling that he has never wanted on the first place.

“Yeah, it’s okay, I’ll ask one of them.”

This needs to end soon. Jihoon needs to put an end to this soon.

 

* * *

 

**realdefdanik**

_Today_

_are you okay_

_you don’t sound so good just now_

_we totally would have survived if you didn’t get up when I told you to stay low_

_how do you expect me to feel good then_

_seriously_

_why am I even playing with you_

_well I said I’M SORRY_

_I didn’t see him_

_and I didn’t hear you_

_but you were sniffling_

_are you sick_

_im fine_

_you just suck_

_everything sucks_

_who ruins your weekend_

_come over at the convenience store_

_this hyung will treat you a drink_

_heh_

_such an exemplary adult_

_I SAID A DRINK, NOT NECESSARILY ALCOHOL_

_seriously Park Jihoon_

_what should I do with you_

_here’s a suggestion_

_leave me alone_

_in your misery?_

_how could this good hyung do that_

_stop calling yourself hyung_

_well_

_I am good three years older than you_

_I’ve even served in the army_

_I am a full-feldged hyung_

_ho_

_salute_

_anyway_

_to make you feel better_

_I’ll spam you with the photos of my cats_

_Rooney and Peter_

_they are female though_

_and they are so cute_

_no_

_THEY ARE_

_really, don’t_

_it’s no trouble, dw_

_no_

_it’s not that_

_Kang Daniel_

_where are you_

_you don’t have to_

_there are 36 photos they are loading now!_

_ah_

_damn_

_I_

_like puppies_

 

* * *

 

 

Daniel knows too well of the look that Sungwoo was giving him when he stood up soon after Hwanhoong told in passing that “the boy you were talking to the other day is at the store again” but he grins at the slightly older man anyway, and brushes off the uneasy feeling tugging deep in his heart, like a child that is about to do something mischievously wrong as he walked out from the studio unit and went down the stairs.

There should be nothing wrong about talking with Jihoon again – after all, they are almost friends by now. They play games together almost every night, when Daniel does not have extra practices at odd hours or friend’s hangouts to attend, and a few times during some intense battles, Jihoon slips and calls him _hyung_ instead of _Kang Daniel_ and Daniel will tease him afterwards, which results in Jihoon cutting off their in-game audio communication. It seems like Jihoon does not take the teasing seriously anyway, because he is always ready to play again the next time, so Daniel has no plan to stop anytime soon.

And they still converse regularly on the Instagram direct messaging, even though Daniel starts most of the conversations. He recently finds out that Jihoon likes puppies, so he makes it a habit to send random photos of puppies to Jihoon, despite having to ask his friends around for photos of their puppies. There is also a nearby pet store that has some adorable puppies and the salesgirl is kind enough to let Daniel take photos of them several times a week.

(Daniel sent his own selfie once – because people around him _actually_ call him a Samoyed dog in human form – but Jihoon did not appreciate the humor apparently, and threatened to have him blocked. He never risks it again.) 

Jihoon is sitting at the seat near the window again and seems to be in a thought deep enough that he does not notice Daniel standing just next to the entrance. It amuses Daniel for some reason, so he walks up the store window and leans on the pillar where some adverts are posted on a board. He is almost directly in front of Jihoon, if it is not for the glass window, but the high school boy takes no heed at all as he mindlessly swirls the drinking straw in his iced Americano.

Daniel has had a fair share of meeting good-looking people, working at the dance studio has given him some chances to meet many aesthetically-pleasing people that work in the entertainment industry – and while Jihoon can easily blends in with these people with the conventionally pretty features on his face, there is just something else that draws Daniel in, that he never quite feels for anyone else.

He tries to not dwell on it, because it is unlike him to give such thing a serious thought but sometimes, when his fatigue overthrows his need of sleep, leaving him wide awake yet exhausted at wee hours in the morning, he entertains the thought of Park Jihoon and his beautiful face, and realizes that he likes the inherent softness that comes off very comforting, and the lovely glow that Jihoon emits, even when he is not smiling.

Of course, he has yet to see a genuine smile from Park Jihoon. At the previous encounter where they had met for the first time, it was clear to him that Jihoon wanted to be anywhere but there, especially when Daniel confronted him about applying to Chung-ang University. Perhaps he had come off too strong and intrusive then, though when he apologized to Jihoon on the Instagram DM afterwards, Jihoon dismissed it by saying that he was just being awkward like he usually does at first meetings.

 _you look better on your Instagram photos, isn’t this a case of fraud heh_ – Jihoon had even joked, and it had made him laugh, hoping that it is indeed a joke.

He wonders if he can see Jihoon smile today.

 

Holding on the thought, Daniel taps on the window.      

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am terribly sorry for yet another filler chapter, I think I will be able to pick up the pace starting from next chapter. but this chapter is quite important to show some sides of Daniel (and his friends? heh) so that's that hehe also, that's probably the last time you see the annoying Jihoon-Woojin-Seob drama lol the chapter is pretty rushed and I want to hurry up and write the next chapter to give some sense of the story at this point lol so if there's anything I should clarify in the next installment, please let me know in the comment! also you can always find me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/winkgingie) or [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/mylovewinkgingie) too! 
> 
> thanks a lot for reading!
> 
> (and many thanks to 10nim for proofreading something I wrote at 2am heh)


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